Lead making machine



y 1962 R. L. ALBRIGHT 3,046,636

LEAD MAKING MACHINE Filed Feb. 9, 1959 6 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR. ROBERT L. ALBRm-m July 31, 1962 R. L. ALBRIGHT LEAD MAKING MACHINE 6 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Feb. 9, 1959 INVENTOR. ROBERT L. ALamsHT July 31, 1962 R. ALBRIGHT LEAD MAKING MACHINE 6 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Feb. 9, 1959 ROBERT L. hLBm-sH-T M WL July 31, 1962 R. ALBRIGHT LEAD MAKING MACHINE 6 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed 9 9 OR. QOBERx L HT Y BY R. L. ALBRIGHT LEAD MAKING MACHINE July 31, 1962 6 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Feb. 9, 1959 124 MENTOR BY ROBERT L. ALBRIGHT July 31, 1962 R. ALBRIGHT LEAD MAKING MACHINE 6 Sheets-Sheet 6 Filed Feb. 9, 1959 INVENTOR. '--ROBERT L. ALBRIGHT United States Patent 3,046,636 LEAD MAKING MACHINE Robert L. Albright, Hershey, Pa., assignor to AMP Incorporated, Harrisburg, Pa. Filed Feb. 9, 1959, Ser. No. 792,098 9 Claims. (Cl. 29-335) This invention relates to lead-making machines of the type which are adapted to produce electrical leads having a terminal crimped onto one or both ends thereof.

One common type of lead-making apparatus presently available comprises a crimping press having a means for automatically feeding a succession of terminals to a position between the crimping dies of the press. In the use of this type of apparatus, the operator positions the end of a previously cut conductor in the uncrimped terminal in the press and actuates the press of efiect crimping of the terminal onto the conductor end. Thus, with devices of this type, it is necessary that the operator be supplied with previously cut leads and that each lead be positioned by the operator in the press prior to crimping. Obviously, it would be desirable to devise a machine which would avoid the necessity of severing the wire into individual leads prior to the crimping operation and it would also be desirable to crimp both of the terminals onto the wire ends at one time rather than perform two separate crimping operations for each lead produced. Several types of fully automatic lead-making machines are presently known which, in fact, do cut the Wire to the desired lengths and apply terminals onto both ends of the resulting leads in a single operating cycle, but these machines are relatively complex and their expense is usually not justified for short production leadmaking runs. It follows that these fully automatic multifunction lead-making machines are, in general, used only where extremely large numbers of similar leads are being produced.

An object of the present invention is to provide an improved lead-making machine capable of automatic or semiautomatic operation which performs the functions of cutting the wire into predetermined lengths and crimping terminals onto one or both ends of the cut wire. A further object is to provide a semiautomatic lead-making machine having a wire feed means such that a succession of leads can be produced from a coil of wire without previously cutting the wire into sections of the desired lead length. A still further object is to provide an improved lead-making machine capable of crimping two terminals at one time onto the ends of wires.

These and other objects are achieved in a preferred embodiment having a reciprocable ram on which is mounted a pair of crimping dies, a cutting blade for cutting wire, and a shear blade for shearing the leading terminals from previously fed strips of terminals. Feeding of the wire is accomplished in this preferred embodiment by means of a shuttle which reciprocates past the crimping die set and pulls the wire from an endless source, such as a reel, a distance equal to the desired length of the finished leads. The end of the wire is clamped, after it has been pulled the desired amount, and the shuttle is returned to its starting point after which the section of the previously fed wires in the vicinity of the crimping dies is displaced into the previously fed terminals and crimped thereto by the dies. At the time of crimping, the section of wire which extends between the two crimped terminals is severed so that a finished lead is produced and at the same time a terminal is crimped onto the leading end of the wire which extends from the endless source. It will be apparent from the foregoing wire laterally of its axis.

brief description that the wire must be aligned with the terminals prior to crimping so that it can be displaced into the uncrimped terminals prior to the actual crimping operation. In one embodiment of my invention, I accomplish this positioning of the wire by means of a movable wire puller which pulls a short section of the In an alternative embodiment I utilize terminals of a particular strip form which obviates the need 0t laterally pulling the wire to position it over the terminals.

-In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of a preferred embodiment of a lead-making machine in accordance with my invention adapted for semi-automatic operation;

FIGURE 2 is a view taken along the lines 2-2 of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a fragmentary side view of a terminal 1 feed arm and finger which form part of the preferred embodiment;

FIGURE 4 is a sectional view of the crimping press showing the actuating means for the crimping ram;

FIGURE 5 is a side view, on an enlarged scale, showing the crimping zone;

FIGURE 6 is a view taken along the lines 66 of FIGURE 5;

FIGURE 7 is a fragmentary side view illustrating the action of the wire pull-back device by means of which the wire is positioned properly relative to the terminals prior to crimping;

FIGURE 8 is a view similar to FIGURE 7 but showing the crimping dies in their bottomed position and illustrating the shearing and wire cutting operations;

FIGURE 9 is a view takenalong the lines 9-9 of FIGURE 8;

FIGURE 10 is a view taken along the lines 1010 of FIGURE 5 but showing the wire pull-back device in its retracted position;

FIGURE 11 is a perspective fragmentary view of the wire shuttle; and

FIGURE 12 is a perspective view of the crimping zone of an alternative embodiment of the invention.

Referring now to FIGURES 1 and 4, in a preferred embodiment of my invention I provide a crimping press comprising a C-shaped frame casting 4 with a housing 6 on its rearward end. Within the housing there is mounted a motor 8 coupled by means of a belt 10 to a flywheel 12 on the end of a shaft 14. Normally, the flywheel turns freely on the shaft and the shaft is stationary. A single revolution clutch mechanism 16 has a slidable key by means of which the flywheel can be coupled to the shaft for a single revolution of the flywheel and then disengaged. The single revolution clutch 16 is not shown or described in detail since such devices are comm-only known to the art. It is suflicient to say that in the disclosed embodiment this clutch may be engaged by means of a solenoid (not shown) to which it is linked by means of a link 17. Shaft 14 extends through a bearing 18 and has a crank arm 20 on its end.

Crank arm 20 is pivotally connected at its end to one end of a connecting rod 22 which in turn has a pivotal connection at its opposite end with one arm 24 of a bell crank. This bell crank is pivotally mounted intermediate its ends at 26 and its other arm has a pivotal connection 28 with a link 30, this link in turn being pivoted to the i 7 upper end of a reciprocable ram 32. It will be apparent from FIGURE 4 that upon engagement of clutch 16, crank 20 is driven through a single revolution and the bell crank is rotated about its pivotal axis 26 to straighten aoaaese the toggle connection with ram 34} whereby the ram is driven downwardly to its bottom dead center position. As crank arm 29 completes its single revolution, the bell crank rotates in the clockwise direction and the parts are returned to the starting position of FIGURE 4.

Two separate strips 34 of end-to-end connected terminals are supplied to the apparatus from a pair of reels or spools 36 which are rotatably carried by a spindle on the end of a bracket 38 which extends from the press frame. The strips are led around a sheet metal guide plate 40, which functions to maintain a slight tension in the strips, and toward the crimping zone along parallel paths. Intermittent feeding of the terminals is accomplished by means of a feed arm 42 having a feed finger 44 pivotally and adjustably secured to its end at 48. The feed finger is normally biased in a counterclockwise direction, as viewed in FIGURE 3, by a spring 49 and its end is bifurcated as indicated at 46 so that it provides two terminal strip engaging extensions.

Feed arm 42 is secured to a shaft 50 which is rotatably carried by a bracket 52 secured to the frame. A lever 54 within the hollow frame casting is secured to the opposite end of shaft 50 and this lever extends towards and into the plane of hell crank lever 24. This lever is oscillated by means of a push rod 56 pivotally connected to bell crank arm 24 adjacent its end at 58 and extends through an oversized hole in a block 60. A plate 62 is disposed on top of block and projects over the top surface of lever 54 and this plate is normally biased downwardly as viewed in FIGURE 4 by means of a coil spring 64 which surrounds rod 56. It will thus be apparent that as the bell crank lever 24 is oscillated in a counterclockwise direction as viewed in FIGURE 4, rod 56 is urged downwardly and, by virtue of plate 62, lever 54 is also urged downwardly thereby to cause counterclockwise rotation of shaft 50 as viewed in FIGURE 3. When this shaft is rotated in a counterclockwise direction the feed finger 44 is retracted and extensions 46 are positioned behind the next adjacent terminals of the strips.

When bell crank arm 24 is raised during the second half the feed arm or feed finger is retracted during descent of the ram and is advanced to feed the terminals during ascent of the ram.

Referring now to FIGURES l, 6 and 11, the wire feeding mechanism of my preferred embodiment comprises a shuttle block 72 which is slidably mounted on a guide t rod 74 extending from the press casting past the crimping zone. Shuttle 72 has a depending arm 69 which has a hole 73 therein of a size sufiiciently large freely to receive the wire 104 but not sufficiently large to permit passage of one of the terminals therethrough. Advantageously, rod 74 has a groove extending therein into which a pin 76 projects which functions to prevent rotation of the shuttle relative to the rod and accurately defines the path of reciprocation of the shuttle.

A piston rod 78 is secured at its end to the shuttle and extends from a pneumatic piston-cylinder 30 which is supported by means of support members or standards 82, 84. Standard 84 has a foot portion 86 to which is bolted a clamping plate 88 by means of which an ad justable standard 99 is adjustably clamped at the desired position along the path of wire feed. Standard 90 has secured to its upper end a stop plate 92 through which guide rod 74 and piston rod 73 extend. Thus, the rightward limit of travel of the shuttle and the length of the leads produced is accurately defined by this stop plate. The terminal is clamped by means of the hooked end 96 of a piston rod 98 of a double acting piston cylinder 100. This piston rod extends through a slot in standard 9t) and is retracted to clamp the terminal by means of a microswitch 93 which, when closed, energizes a solenoid valve to supply compressed air through line to the cylinder. The opposite end of the cylinder is supplied with compressed air through another line (not specifically shown) after the terminals have been crimped as described below. Compressed air is supplied by lines 162a and 10217 to the end of double acting piston cylinder 80 and to piston cylinder 10!). The pneumatic system for these lines and for these cylinders is also described more fully below.

The wire 164 is supplied from a substantially endless source such as a reel 106 mounted on a bracket extending from a machine frame. The end of the wire is led down by the side of the frame and through the eye 108 of an adjustable stop 107 on guide rod 74, and thence through the opening in arm 69 of shuttle 72. Upon m0vement of the shuttle from a position adjacent the frame casting up to stop plate 92, wire is pulled from the sup ply reel past the crimping zone.

Referring now to FIGURES 5-10 the lower crimping dies and the associated structure are mounted on a plate 116 which is secured to the press casting. A block 112 secured to this plate has a rearwardly extending flange 114 over the top surface of which the terminals are fed towards the crimping stations. The feed paths of the terminals are defined by means of a central plate 116 on the top surface of this flange, and adjustable side guide plates 118, so that two parallel tracks leading to the crimping dies are provided for the terminals. Advantageously, a hold down plate 120 extends across these feed tracks or feed paths in order to apply a light clamping pressure to the strips of terminals and to prevent overfeeding thereof. The clamping pressure is applied by means of springs 122 which surround bolts 124. These bolts extend freely through the clamping plate adjacent the ends thereof and into blocks 126 which are secured as by machine screws to the flange 114 along its sides.

Clamped to the front face of block 112 is a spacer 128 and a shearing plate or shearing block 130. This shearing block has a pair of parallel projections 132 which form continuations of the terminal feed paths and which function as lower crimping dies or anvils. Advantageously, the clamping of the spacer and shear block to block 112 is accomplished by means of L-shaped plates 134 against the sides of which these projections or lower crimping dies bear.

At the conclusion of the wire feeding operating previously explained, the fed section of wire extends in a straight line from guide 108 to clamp 96 and it is necessary to position portions of the wire in alignment with the previously fed terminals as shown in FIGURE 10. That is, it is necessary to displace a section of the wire leftwardly transversely of its axis from the dotted line position of FIGURE 10 to the full line position. Such alignment of the wire is accomplished by means of a relatively thin plate 138 having laterally projecting arms 140. As best illustrated in FIGURE 6, the distance between the sides of these arms is slightly less than the center-to-center distance between the fed terminals on the lower crimping dies. This plate is pulled backwardly or rightwardly as viewed in FIGURE 5 by means of a slide bar 142 to which it is secured at its lower end and which extends slidably between the lower crimping dies and through the spacer and the block 112. At its end this bar is secured to a piston rod 144 of a double acting pneumatic piston-cylinder 146. This piston cylinder is normally in the position of FIGURE 5 and upon rightward movement of the piston, plate 138 is retracted to align the wire as shown in FIGURE 10 with the terminals. As shown in FIGURE ]0, portions of the wire are aligned with the terminals by virtue of arm 69 and a guide pin 148 as the pull-back plate is retracted.

The disclosed embodiment is adapted to attach terminals onto wire ends of the type shown in FIGURE 7. These comprise a contact portion 160, which may be a ring-tongue as shown, and a generally U-shaped ferrule forming portion 162 having insulation piercing lances 164 struck up from the bottom thereof. The terminals are crimped by means of dies 158 having parallel spacedapart axes in an upper die plate 156 which is clamped to the press ram. Each of these dies cooperates with one of the units to form a crimping die set for each terminal. Also clamped to this ram and behind the die plate is a wire cutting blade 154 having a cutting edge which is positioned such that the section of wire extending from the one terminal to the other terminal is severed at the time the ram reaches its bottom dead center position. The ram also carried a spacer 152 and a shear or slug-out blade 150 having guide portions extending into an opening in the shear block 130. This blade removes the short slugs of metal by means of which adjacent terminals of the strip are connected.

In use, and assuming that the parts are in the position shown in FIGURE 1 with a wire having a terminal on the end thereof clamped in the clamping book 96, and that the shuttle is against the press casting, the operator first actuates a foot switch, not specifically shown, which energizes a valve controlling the air supply for piston cylinder 146. Compressed air is admitted at the left hand end of this cylinder to cause retraction of slide bar 142 and pullback plate 138 thereby to position the portion of the wire in the vicinity of the crimping dies relatively over, the parallel to, the ferrule forming portions of the terminals. A microswitch 147 is closed by a contacting pin 149 on slide bar 142 to cause energization of the solenoid which causes engagement of single revolution clutch l6. Thereafter, ram 32 descends and crimps the terminals onto the wire, cut the section of wire extending between the terminals, and shears out the connecting slugs. After the ram has passed through its bottom dead center position, a cam on shaft 14 contacts a microswitch (not specifically shown) which opens a valve to exhaust the air from left hand and (FIGURE 2) of clamp piston-cylinder 100 and admit air to the right hand end thereof so that the endof the lead is released from the clamp. The microswitch contacted by the shaft also controls a solenoid valve which admits air to the rightward end of piston cylinder 146 thereby causing leftward movement of piston rod 144 and pull back plate 138. This same microswitch also controls a time delay switch to energize a solenoid valve to admit air in line ltiZa to piston cylinder 80 which causes movement of pi ton rod 78 rightwardly as viewed in FIGURE 1 and movement or" the shuttle rightwardly toward stop 92.. It is advantageous to use a time delay switch to control movement of the shuttle rightwardly in order to preclude the possibility of the shuttle moving rightwardly before the pullback plate 138 has been retracted. When the shuttle reaches stop 92 it contacts microswitch 93 on the standard 90 which again energizes the air admission solenoid valve for clamp piston cylinder 1% and at the same time it energizes a valve which causes admission of air in line 1021; to piston cylinder 80. Thus the shuttle is immediately returned to its starting piston and the clamp 96 is actuated to clamp the terminal on end of the wire. When the shuttle return to its starting position, the Wire will have been fed and the ram will have reached its top dead center position. The operatorthen closes the foot switch for the next cycle of operation.

As previously explained, the feeding of the terminals by feed arm 42 takes place during upward movement of the ram. The movement of the terminals assists in removing the previously formed lead from the crimping zone although other means for removing the lead may obviously be provided, for example an air blast or a simple mechanical pushing device actuated either by separate air cylinder or by the press ram itself. Under some circumstances it may prove desirable to have a separate air blast for the removal of the cut sections of wire from the crimping zone. This expedient is commonly known and is used frequently in lead-making machines for removing small sections of wire or insulation which are produced during a crimping cycle; see for example FIG- URE 11 of United States patent application Serial No. 562,198 filed January 30, 1956 for Lead Making Apparatus and Method.

The disclosed embodiment of the invention is adapted for semi-automatic operation in that it requires an operator to initiate each cycle of the machine, however, it is obvious that the same embodiment could be made fully automatic by merely making provisions for periodic closure of the starting switch. For example this could be done by mounting a microswitch on plate 107 against which the stop is mounted so that the switch would be contacted and closed as soon as the shuttle returns from its feeding stroke. Alternatively, the principles of the invention are useful in semi-automatic crimping and leadmaking machines having fewer refinements than the disclosed embodiment. For example, the automatic wire feed mechanism might be eliminated in which case the operator would reciprocate the shuttle by hand. With such an arrangement, the clamp and clamping cylinder would also be omitted and the terminated end of the wire might merely be placed in a suitable hook or holder at the end of guide bar 74.

In any event, and regardless of whether the machine or the invention is employed as an automatic or semi-automatic machine, several salient advantages will be obvious from the foregoing description. For example, the embodiment of FIGURE 1 is built around a relatively simple type of commonly known crimping press which is at present commercially available. Lead making apparatus in accordance with the invention avoids the complicated and highly specialized stripping mechanisms, cutting mechanisms, and wire positioning mechanisms of prior art automatic lead making machines. When compared with prior art semi-automatic lead making machines (is. of the types in which the operator inserts individual precut leads into the press during each cycle) the instant invention has the substantial advantage of avoiding the need for pre cutting of the wire since in one simple motion, where the shuttle is manually operated, the operator measures and feeds the wire from the spool supply and upon actuation of the crimping press the wire is cut and two terminals are crimped rather than one terminal as in the prior art machines.

While the drawing shows an embodiment in which insulation piercing type terminals are applied to an insulated wire, it is also apparent that the invention is applicable to the crimping of terminals which requirea stripped wire. To accomplish this end, the wire would have sections of insulation removed therefrom at periodic intervals corresponding to the length of the desired lead. It is common practice to remove insulation from wire at spaced intervals and machines are available for performing this operation. See for example US. Patents Nos. 1,800,950 and 1,800,914. If terminals requiring stripped wire were being applied with the embodiment of FIGURE 1 the operating cycle would be substantially the same as that described above.

The embodiment of FIGURE 1 is adapted to use terminals in strip form in which each terminal is connected to the end of the next adjacent terminal. FIGURE 12 of the drawing shows an alternative embodiment of the invention which is adapted to crimp a more specialized type of terminal strip comprising two vis-a-vis rows of terminals with the terminals of each row connected by means of connecting slugs 166 and having additional con necting slugs 163 to connect the two rows together. In this embodiment, the lower crimping die 170 supports the two leading terminals of the strip with their contact portions adjacent each other and with their ferrule forming portions on the opposite sides of the strip. A lower shear block 171 i also provided and cooperating with these elements there is provided on the ram an upper shearing member 172 having laterally extending rams 174 with guide portions 176 projecting downwardly to an opening in the lower shear block. A pair of wire cutting knives 178 are secured on opposite sides of the upper shear block adapted to out along lines extending substantially across each terminal at the boundary between the tongue portion and the ferrule-forming portion. The upper ram also carrie a pair of parallel axially aligned crimping dies 189 which are spaced apart from each other a distance substantially equal to the width of the terminal strip.

The shuttle 72 and the other associated elements are substantially the same as in the embodiment of FIGURE 1 and need not be further described except to point out that the arm 69 of the shuttle extends laterally towards the lower crimping die rather than downwardly a in the embodiment of FIGURE 1. The length of thi arm is such that it positions the wire directly over and in axial alignment with the ferrule forming portions of the terminal as it travels to and fro along its guide bar 74. URE 12 is that it is unnecessary to pull back and align the wire prior to crimping as is necessary in the embodiment of FIGURE 1.

Changes in construction will occur to those skilled in the art and various apparently different modifications and embodiments may be made without departing from the scope of the invention. The matter set forth in the foregoing description and accompanying drawings is offered by way of illustration only. The actual scope of the invention is intended to be defined in the following claims when viewed in their proper perspective against the prior art.

I claim:

1. A lead making machine having a crimping zone,

a pair of aligned and spaced-apart crimping die sets for supporting uncrimped terminals in said crimping zone, at least one die of each set being mounted on a ram and movable relatively towards and away from the other die of the set, wire pulling means reciprocable along a path past said crimping zone, fixed wire holding means at the end of said path whereby wire pulled from a substantially endless source by said pulling means is pulled past said crimping zone and the end of said wire is held by said holding means during return of said pulling means, and wire severing means carried by said ram and effective to out said wire along at least one plane in said crimping zone between said die sets.

2. A lead making machine having a crimping zone, a pair of aligned and spaced-apart crimping die sets for supporting uncrimped terminals in said crimping zone, at least one die of each set being mounted on a ram and movable relatively towards and away from the other die of the set, wire pulling means reciprocable along a. path past said crimping zone, fixed wire holding means at the end of said path whereby wire pulled from a sub stantially endless source by said pulling means is pulled past said crimping zone and the end of said wire is held by said holding means during return of said pulling means, wire aligning means for aligning portions of said wire in said crimping zone parallel to said ferrule-forming portions of said terminals and between said terminals and one of said dies of each die set whereby, upon movement of said dies, terminals are crimped onto said wire, and wire severing means carried by said ram and effective to cut said wire along at least one plane between said dies.

3. Apparatus as set forth in claim 2 wherein said die sets are aligned in side-by-side relationship on parallel axes, and said path extends transversely of the axes of said die sets; said aligning means comprising means reciprocable bteween said die sets and operative to displace a section of wire laterally of its axis whereby portions of said wire section are aligned parallel to said ferrule-forming portions.

4. Apparatus as set forth in claim 2 wherein said die sets are aligned coaxially, and said aligning means com- The obvious advantage of the embodiment of FIG- prises an arm extending from said wire pulling means and having means for retaining said wire at a position in which its axis extends between said die sets and parallel to the axis thereof.

5. A lead-making machine having a crimping zone, a pair of aligned and spaced-apart crimping die sets in said crimping zone, at least one die of each set being mounted on a ram and movable relatively towards and away from the other die of the set, said die sets being of the type for crimping the ferrule-forming portions of connectors onto wires, wire pulling means reciprocable along a path past said crimping zone and having an opening therein of a size sufficiently large freely to permit passage of a wire therethrough but not sulficiently large to permit passage of a terminal therethrough, fixed wire holding means at the end of said path whereby wire pulled from a substantially endless source by said pulling means is pulled past said crimping zone and the end of said Wire is held by said holding means during return of said pulling means, wire aligning means for aligning portions of said wire in said crimping zone parallel to said ferruleforming portions of connectors positioned between said dies of each set, and wire severing means carried by said ram and effective to out said wire along at least one plane between said dies whereby, upon movement of said ram, said connectors are crimped onto said wire and said wire is cut in a plane between said connectors to form a finished lead, and upon subsequent movement of said Wire pulling means, wire is pulled from said endless source by engagement of the connector on the leading end of said Wire with said opening in said pulling means.

6. Apparatus as set forth in claim 5 wherein said die sets are aligned in side-by-side relationship on parallel axes, and said path extends transversely of the axes of said die sets, said aligning means comprising, means reciprocable between said die sets and operative to displace a section of said wire laterally of its axis whereby portions of said wire section are aligned parallel to said ferruleforming portions.

7. Apparatus as set forth in claim 5 wherein said die sets are aligned coaxially, and said aligning means comprises a portion of said wire pulling means, said opening of said wire pulling means being axially parallel to the common axis of said dies and being reciprocable therebetween whereby the axis of said wire extends between said dies.

8. A lead making machine having a crimping zone, a pair of axially aligned and spaced apart crimping die sets in said crimping zone, at least one die of each set being mounted on a ram and movable relatively towards and away from the other die of the set, said die sets being of the type for crimping the ferrule-forming portion of connectors onto wires, a wire pulling shuttle reciprocable along a path past said crimping zone and having an opening therein of a size sufficiently large freely to permit passage of a wire therethrough but not sufficiently large to permit passage of a terminal therethrough, wire severing means carried by said ram and effective between said die sets to sever a fed wire between connectors disposed between said dies, and wire holding means at the end of said path for holding the end of a fed wire, said path extending parallel to the axis of said dies and said opening in said shuttle being reciprocable between said dies whereby a fed wire is axially aligned with said connectors.

9. A lead making machine having a crimping zone, a pair of side-by-side crimping die sets in said crimping zone having parallel spaced apart axes, at least one die of each set being mounted on a ram and movable relatively towards and away from the other die of the set. said die sets being of the type for crimping the ferruleforming portions of connectors onto wires, a wire pulling shuttle reciprocable along a path past said crimping zone and having an opening therein of a size sufficiently large freely to permit passage of a wire therethrough but not sufiiciently large to permit passage of a terminal,

wire aligning means comprising means reeiprocable between said die sets and normally of said path to displace a section of ,said wire laterally of its axis thereby to position portions of said section parallel to ferrule-forming portions of connectors positioned between said die sets, and wiresevering means carried 'by said ram and effective to sever wi-re between said die sets and between said connectors.

UNITED STATES PATENTS Cole July 21, 1942 Alden Feb. 1, 1944 Andren Feb. 1, 1944 Hackbarth Apr. 8, 1952 

